Don't count on paying for your funeral with term life insurance or insurance through your employer. The term will usually end before you die. The employer insurance is not a good plan for funeral planning because most people live to retirement age which is after the employer insurance ends.

For funeral planning either buy a prepaid funeral plan from a funeral home or make sure you have at least 10,000 of guaranteed whole-life insurance. Either of those will work fine.

Life insurance serves many purposes. Life insurance can be used to pay off debts of the estate, replace income, cover final expenses including unpaid medical bills and funeral expenses.

In the case of life insurance on children (a much debated issue) the proceeds can provide a financial cushion so the parents don't have to return to work the next day but instead will have time to grieve with dignity.

Life insurance can also be used to replace the lost services of a non-working spouse.

The most important thing is, to make sure the life insurance policy is in force when it is needed.

Life insurance works well for covering funeral expenses. Life insurance does not go through probate, so you are able to pay the funeral home quickly. Most funeral homes are happy to work with you with final expense or pre-need life insurance policies. When you purchase life insurance for that purpose, your beneficiary can use what is left over to pay other bills.

The beneficiary makes the decision on how to spend the proceeds of life insurance. If you wish, you can make your funeral home the beneficiary of your policy, as to the portion for the funeral expenses for you. The balance can be used by another beneficiary, as they see fit, if you wish to have a higher benefit amount. Gary Lane, Registered Representative, New York Life. 949 797 2424. Thank you.

Yes, life insurance can be used to cover funeral expenses. Some policies are called funeral policies, but they are actually just Whole Life insurance with which you can use the excess that is not needed for the funeral, to cover other needs. Some funeral homes will allow you to assign up to $20,000 of life insurance to them so that it is not counted as an asset for Medicaid purposes.